# Portraits and Sculpture Art Retreat with Artist Jeanne Oliver in France Immerse yourself in a transformative art retreat with beloved artist Jeanne Oliver, set in the serene countryside of southwestern France. Centered on sculpture and portraiture, this retreat invites you to explore how story and emotion take shape through your hands. Through clay, plaster, paper mache, wire, and pigment, you will discover how texture and gesture can capture presence and spirit. Whether you are sculpting a likeness or exploring the raw energy of a portrait, each piece will evolve from your own intuition and observation. Designed for both beginners and experienced artists, this experience offers time to grow, reflect, and reconnect with what moves you to create.Spend a full day in the medieval village of Saint-Antonin-Noble-Val, wandering brocantes and narrow cobblestone lanes with an English-speaking guide. Enjoy lunch at a local restaurant, sketch on-site, and collect visual inspiration for your sculptural work. Another full-day art trip takes you to Saint-Cirq-Lapopie and Cahors, where you’ll cruise the Lot River and capture the play of light across ancient stone buildings and winding shores.Work in a spacious, light-filled studio housed in a beautifully restored barn, or step outdoors to shaded terraces, garden paths, and tranquil ponds for open-air sessions. Vary your setting throughout the week using alternate creative spaces like the piano room or smaller garden studio. Unwind in elegant ensuite rooms with scenic views, relax by the heated pool, and enjoy shared meals and conversation in cozy common areas after each day’s discoveries. ## Details - **Dates:** October 3 - 10, 2026 - **Location:** Sainte Alauzie, Lot-et-Garonne, France - **Starting Price:** $4,750 - **Category:** Painting ## Program ### Portraits and Sculpture Art Retreat Join artist Jeanne Oliver for a deeply inspiring art retreat in the lush hills of southwestern France, where old stone paths wind through breathtaking fields and every sunrise feels like a beginning. This week is devoted to sculpture and portraiture, an invitation to explore how story and emotion take shape through your hands. Jeanne teaches through warmth and presence, encouraging you to feel your way through each pose or expression until it speaks. Whether you are returning to art after years away or seeking new depth in your practice, this retreat offers room to breathe, experiment, and create without pressure.A simple line leads to the beauty and capture of a portrait. Loose lines of charcoal skip across the paper, ink drips from a brush, the stroke of paint reflects your own image, or the form of clay brings a portrait to life. The study of portraiture here is less about representation and more about capturing the "capture" found in your own reflection, the glance of a stranger, a magazine page, a still from a movie, a newspaper clipping, a torn book page, or an old Polaroid. Nothing is off limits; be open to what moves you to create.Contour sketching, ink, paper, collage, and paint will guide you as you explore portraits in the raw. Through layers of ink, charcoal, plaster, and mixed media, you will build a volume of expressive work that embraces experimentation and play. You will begin by learning to create an armature, followed by sculpting a small clay figure. Then, using reference images, you will create quick contour sketches of faces that inspire you on paper, raw canvas, and vellum. Discover the freedom of altering magazine pages to open new creative paths, and from your studies, begin developing portraits on paper with charcoal, graphite, and ink. Some of these works will be torn and reassembled into collage and paint pieces that evolve naturally.One day will take you to Saint-Antonin-Noble-Val, a medieval village tucked into the gorges of the Aveyron. Wander brocantes and riverside streets, enjoy lunch at a local restaurant, and sketch the play of light over centuries-old stone. Later in the week, you will visit Saint-Cirq-Lapopie and Cahors, floating down the Lot River beneath cliffs and bridges that shift color as the day moves on.By the end, you will leave with clay work, a hand-stitched sketchbook, a stitched portrait, and portrait studies on paper, cardboard, wood, and raw canvas. But, more than that, you will have rediscovered the joy of making something that feels entirely your own!The topics covered during your lessons will include:Creating clay sculptures with simple armaturesFocusing on portraitureCreating handmade sketchbooksCollages with a focus on the facePortrait work in acrylic paintHow to work out creative ideas based upon the inspiration you gatherWorking with simple tools like charcoal, graphite, and inkHow to create an armatureHow to create with clay and paper macheHow to quickly capture the human formHow to become more experimental in your art...and many more!Stay on a private estate set across 75 acres of fields, forests, and manicured gardens in the heart of Lot-et-Garonne. Work in a light-filled converted barn studio, a smaller studio with garden access, or the piano room in the main house. The grounds include two ponds, a heated pool, walking trails, terraces, and a variety of outdoor seating areas perfect for sketching or quiet reflection. Between sessions, unwind in spacious ensuite rooms and comfortable shared spaces with views in every direction. ### Day 1: Arrival Get transferred from Toulouse-Blagnac Airport (TLS) at 3:00 PM, arriving at the venue by 4:00 PM. Settle into your room, then join Jeanne and your fellow artists for an orientation tour, exploring the gardens, the lovely terraces, the creative studio, and communal spaces. Over a fabulous welcoming dinner, enjoy a relaxed conversation about the week ahead while savoring local flavors and a glass of regional wine. ### Day 2: Art at the venue Wake up to a delicious breakfast before stepping into the studio with Jeanne.Begin the morning by shaping simple armatures that will support your first figure studies. Feel how the clay responds in your hands as you build small sculptures, both with and without internal structure. Focus on gesture and proportion, capturing the essence of a pose rather than perfection. Jeanne will move through the room, guiding your process and helping you see where weight, balance, and emotion emerge through form.After lunch, open your sketchbook and shift your attention to portrait studies.As the afternoon unfolds, Gather your reference images (faces that catch your attention, a reflection, a magazine page, a film still) and start making quick contour sketches. Draw on paper, raw canvas, or vellum, following each line as it moves across the surface. Work loosely, and experiment with charcoal, ink, and graphite to explore texture and rhythm in each mark. Build a small series of expressive sketches that echo the figures you sculpted in the morning. Observe how the same emotion translates from clay to line. Jeanne will offer guidance on layering and composition, encouraging you to respond to what appears on the page rather than control it.Toward evening, take time to relax. Go for a walk, unwind by the pool, or continue working in the gardens, woodlands, or shaded terraces. Over dinner, share insights with others and talk about what surprised you, what challenged you, and what you’ll explore next. ### Day 3: Trip to Saint-Antonin-Noble-Val and Jardins de Quercy Watch the early sun break through the branches as you sit down to breakfast with Jeanne, then gather over coffee to talk through the day ahead.Pack your sketchbook and camera, and travel to Saint-Antonin-Noble-Val, a medieval town nestled against the cliffs of the Aveyron Gorges. Wander its narrow cobblestone streets and brocante markets lined with wisteria and climbing roses. Take your time moving through the town, noticing textures and patterns in the worn stone and ironwork. Capture reference photos of what draws your attention. Sketch if you feel inspired, focusing on observing and collecting what you might return to later in the studio.Pause midday for lunch at a riverside restaurant, where the air carries the scent of herbs and fresh bread, and the sound of flowing water mixes with laughter from nearby tables. Enjoy the pause and the chance to let the morning’s impressions settle before returning to your creative work.In the afternoon, continue to Jardins de Quercy, a French botanical garden filled with winding paths and sculptural plantings that change with the light. Move slowly through the space and take reference photos of forms, textures, and natural compositions that speak to you. Find a quiet spot among the greenery to sketch, capturing shapes and lines as they appear in front of you. Record color notes or impressions that will later inform your portraits and studies back in the studio.Stop at a viewpoint overlooking the Aveyron Gorges on the drive back. The cliffs rise pale against the sky, and the river glints below in long curves of light.Return to the estate with time to rest, continue painting outdoors, or flip through your sketches before sitting down to a three-course dinner served with wine or non-alcoholic options. ### Day 4: Art at the venue Ease into the morning with a delicious breakfast and a check-in over coffee to walk through the plan for the day.Begin by spreading out your sketches from the previous day. Look through your photos and drawings, then choose a few that stand out to you. You will bring these images to life using charcoal and ink, studying how value creates depth and contrast. Add paint or water to your marks to soften edges or draw focus to certain details. Work across multiple surfaces, such as paper, raw canvas, or vellum, and notice how each reacts differently to your materials. Jeanne will guide you as you explore how tone and movement can shift a portrait or composition from static to expressive.After lunch, continue your exploration by learning the freedom of altering magazine pages. Select printed portraits, faces, or figures that draw your attention, and begin transforming them through layers of paint, ink, and line. Use cutting, tearing, and reassembling to open new creative paths. Make photocopies of your work and experiment further with texture and rhythm by stitching into the pages with a sewing machine. Combine thread and collage to create dimensional pieces that blur the line between drawing and sculpture.As the afternoon unfolds, gather your altered works and studies into a small collection. Arrange them side by side to see how your style is emerging through repetition and experimentation. Before dinner, take time to review your favorite pieces and note what you want to carry forward into the next day’s studio session. Over a relaxed evening meal, speak with your fellow artists about what surprised you and how your work began to transform through each step. ### Day 5: Trip to Saint-Cinq-Lapopie and Cahors riverboat tour Enjoy a relaxed breakfast, then ease into the morning over coffee as you check in with the group and prepare for the day ahead.Leave the estate for a full-day trip into the Lot Valley, beginning with a one-hour drive to Saint-Cirq-Lapopie. Once there, take your time walking the steep lanes lined with ivy and wisteria, where the stone walls catch the morning light and the Lot River curves far below. Focus on observing and gathering inspiration. Take reference photos of what moves you, from architectural textures to fleeting gestures of light and form.After a short drive, arrive in Cahors and pause for lunch at a local restaurant. Enjoy the flavors of the region and the chance to rest and talk with others about what caught your eye during the morning. In the early afternoon, wander through the old town at your own pace. Capture small details or compositions in your sketchbook, or photograph scenes that might later inspire your portraits or sculptural studies.Board a riverboat at the edge of town near the Pont Valentré. As you drift along the Lot River, watch the reflections ripple and break, and observe how the light shifts across the stone towers and bridges.Return to the estate in the early evening. Before dinner, take a moment to organize your reference photos and notes or sketch a few impressions from memory. End the day with a three-course dinner with wine. ### Day 6: Art at the venue Light stretches across the hills as you enjoy a refreshing breakfast, followed by a gathering over coffee to discuss the plans for the day.Spend the morning creating new portrait works on paper, using collage to reimagine and expand on what you have already made. Spread out your previous drawings and studies, then begin selecting pieces that call to you. Tear, cut, and rearrange elements to form new compositions. Layer different papers, including vellum, and explore how transparency changes the balance between form and emotion. Use glue, thread, and paint to merge fragments into cohesive portraits that carry both texture and story. Jeanne will guide you as you work, showing how contrast and repetition can turn small studies into expressive, layered pieces.Break for lunch, then return to the studio to continue building your collage portraits.Paint into your assembled pieces, weaving color across surfaces to unify your shapes and lines. Afterwards, take your finished portraits and alter some of them using the sewing machine. Stitch directly into the paper to add movement and tactile detail. Use lines of thread to define edges, create subtle patterns, or emphasize gesture and emotion. Jeanne will encourage you to work freely and see how each mark adds depth and dimension.Before dinner, you will have time to relax, take a walk through the gardens, or keep experimenting with your materials. Gather for a three-course dinner paired with wine and close the day in good company, surrounded by the creative energy that has carried through every moment. ### Day 7: Art at the venue Start your last full day with breakfast with Jeanne and the rest of the group. Take some time to talk about what you've made this week and think about how your work has changed over time.Spend the morning gathering your favorite sketches and studies from the week. Spread them across your workspace and begin selecting pieces to include in your handmade book. Jeanne will guide you through the process of arranging your pages. Use thread to bind drawings, collages, and altered works into a cohesive collection that reflects your creative journey. Add small fragments of vellum or torn paper between pages to create texture and depth. Paint or draw into the pages as you assemble them, allowing each spread to hold a different part of your story.Take a break for lunch, then return to the studio for the final session of the retreat. You will finish the day by hand-stitching a portrait on vintage French linen. Explore how embroidery can become another form of mark-making, adding quiet rhythm and tactile detail to your work. Jeanne will move through the room, offering feedback and encouragement as you complete your final piece.As the afternoon draws to a close, arrange your finished works, books, and stitched portraits across the tables. Take time to appreciate how your pieces connect and how your approach has shifted through the week. A three-course farewell dinner with wine brings the retreat to a close, a last evening filled with laughter and the satisfaction of a week fully spent in creativity. ### Day 8: Departure Enjoy breakfast with Jeanne and your fellow artists, and get ready for your transfer to Toulouse-Blagnac Airport, Toulouse (TLS). Check-out is at 10:00 AM, and you'll arrive at the airport at around 11:30 AM. ## Instructors - **Jeanne Oliver** - Artist, teacher, author, and art business consultant ## Accommodation ### Historic French Estate ### Shared standard ensuite room ### Shared superior ensuite room ### Shared deluxe room - private ensuite bathrooms ### Single standard ensuite room ### Single superior ensuite room ### Single deluxe ensuite room ## Book This Retreat Visit [https://uptrek.com/retreat/portraits-and-sculpture-art-retreat-artist-jeanne-oliver-france](https://uptrek.com/retreat/portraits-and-sculpture-art-retreat-artist-jeanne-oliver-france) to make a reservation. *Provided by [UpTrek](https://uptrek.com)*